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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944904">From Where You Are</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercakesss/pseuds/buttercakesss'>buttercakesss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:14:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercakesss/pseuds/buttercakesss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>And I wish you were here</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>From Where You Are</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All the kids were finally asleep.  At least to Junmyeon they were still kids.  He’d just pulled the covers up over Chanyeol, it’d taken forever to find a blanket that would cover him, and closed the door when he heard the familiar ring coming from the kitchen.  He didn’t want to miss the call, so he ran for it and managed to slip right before he reached the table, but he was able to hit the space bar to answer the video call in time and avoid making friends with the table and his face by an inch.  Junmyeon considered that an accomplishment.</p><p>"You really have to stop running with socks on.  You know the floors are too slippery for that."<br/>Junmyeon’s face burned and he pretended like he didn’t hear the chuckle as his blush was made painfully obvious with the bright light from the screen.  He huffed and sat down in a chair, drawing the laptop closer to him and angling it so he could still be seen while he rested his head on his arms.</p><p>"Anything exciting happen today?"  He covered his yawn as best he could.</p><p>"Manager-ge wants us to start practicing another hour and Minseok and Jongdae got a little homesick, but Yixing and Zitao cheered them up.  Lu Han’s got a cold but we don’t have any schedules for a few days, so we should be fine.  How ‘bout you?"</p><p>Yifan yawned and stretched on the video feed, proving that yawns were contagious even from thousands of miles away.</p><p>"Sehun and Chanyeol got it into their heads that hiding Kyungsoo’s cookbook would be funny and he had a conniption fit.  When he finally got it back, he refused to make dinner, so Jongin and Baekhyun took a shot at it but," Junmyeon gestured to the stack of dirty dishes in the sink behind him on the screen, "they burned whatever it was they were making, so we had ramyun."  He rubbed his temples a bit.  "And that was just dinner."</p><p>Yifan’s soft laugh over the speakers was soothing and Junmyeon sighed, running his fingers over Yifan’s face.</p><p>"How much longer?"</p><p>Yifan’s image moved around like it was looking for something, then the corner of a calendar appeared and was held close to the screen to use the light.</p><p>"Two more weeks," Yifan said, frustration coloring his voice.  It wasn’t often that Yifan’s impatience was so obvious, but the stress of taking care of five boys on top of trying to keep up with all the schedules and practices they had was bound to show a bit this late at night when his guard was down. It was something Junmyeon could appreciate because that was his life too.<br/>What they had was an unplanned fluke.  Anyone could’ve been made leader, but they were picked and, consequently, started spending a lot of time together comparing notes on how they handled it all.  Talk over boba tea between song and dance practice became going out for BBQ late at night til a chance encounter when Junmyeon lost his balance and Yifan grabbed his hand to steady him made both their hearts race.  They walked home like that, fingers entwined.  The rest was history.</p><p>When EXO-M left for China, there were a lot of tears and hugs, but out of all the goodbyes, theirs was the hardest.  As leaders, they had to be strong for the members and hide their feelings.  The only outward sign of their connection was the way their pointer fingers linked in a sad mockery of what they really wanted to do when they stood next to each other.  They hadn’t had time to say goodbye properly before M was gone.  Junmyeon cried that night when all the members were asleep.</p><p>Email wasn’t enough.  Junmyeon tried, Yifan tried, but the words written in haste when they had a quick minute just weren’t the same.  Then Yifan suggested Skype.  The first time they called, they made the mistake of doing it right after dinner.  So rather than being a private chat, it turned into the members from both groups squishing into the frame to talk to the others while Yifan pinched the bridge of his nose and Junmyeon laughed helplessly.  They learned quickly to call when there was no chance for interruption.</p><p>Yifan yawned again and Junmyeon could hear his jaw cracking from the strain.</p><p>"You should go to sleep."</p><p>Yifan snorted and smiled when he could control his face again.  ”You’re an hour ahead.”</p><p>"So?"  Junmyeon’s eyes were drifting lower and lower and he shook himself to stay awake.  "You have to be healthy so you can make sure Lu Han gets healthy."</p><p>Yifan rolled his eyes, “And you don’t have to be healthy for your kids either?”</p><p>Junmyeon opened and closed his mouth, searching for another reason.</p><p>"I’m older."</p><p>Junmyeon gave his best ‘I hate you’ glare into the camera but he couldn’t hold it when he heard what Yifan said next.</p><p>"Please, yeobo, get some sleep.  I won’t be able to if you don’t.”</p><p>Junmyeon gave up.  He stretched and rubbed his eyes, then looked back at his laptop.</p><p>"Two more weeks?"</p><p>"Two more weeks."</p><p>Junmyeon bit his lip and leaned forward to put his hand on the screen next to Yifan’s face.  Yifan’s camera feed jiggling a bit let him know Yifan was doing the same.</p><p>"I can’t wait to see you."</p><p>"I’m counting down the days…Junmyeon?"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"I love you."</p><p>Junmyeon’s heart felt like floating out of his chest.  This was the worst thing about video chatting, seeing everything he couldn’t touch.  He couldn’t help the tears he could feel welling up in his eyes and he always secretly hoped Yifan couldn’t see them, but there was always no point.  Yifan knew they were there anyway.</p><p>"I love you so much."</p><p>"I love you more than flying."</p><p>It was Junmyeon’s turn to roll his eyes but he smiled.</p><p>"Seriously?  A Mama joke?"</p><p>"You know you love it.  Just go with the flow.  Don’t be so wishy washy."</p><p>Now Junmyeon was laughing and he couldn’t help but fall in love just a little bit more.</p><p>"Good night, Yifan.  Get some sleep, okay?"</p><p>"I’m more worried about Baekhyun keeping you awake with all that light than me not being able to sleep."</p><p>Junmyeon had to cover his mouth to keep from being too loud, but his eyes crinkled in a huge smile that Yifan couldn’t miss.</p><p>"Good night, my yeobo.  I’ll see you soon.”</p><p>A last wave and he was gone.</p><p>Yifan sat back and flexed his hands, cracking the knuckles.  He looked at the calendar, the date they went back to Korea circled in bright red.</p><p>"Two more weeks, yeobo, and I can’t wait.”</p><p>~~~~~~<br/>There was no silence now that EXO was one again.  There were loud conversations everywhere: asking how things were, commenting on the new things they owned, showing off new moves.</p><p>There were only two relatively silent people and they were at opposite ends of the room, trying not to be too obvious about the way they were looking at each other.  They politely greeted the members from the other group, but their words faded away fast and their eyes wandered to watch each other from around the excited boys.</p><p>Neither knew who made the first move.  They gravitated towards each other naturally, meeting in the middle of the mess of chatting and hugs.  Junmyeon’s arms circled around Yifan’s neck and Yifan’s wound around Junmyeon’s waist and they just held each other, foreheads and noses touching while they took in each other’s scents.</p><p>“Excuse me, can I get a picture?”</p><p>The photographer sheepishly interrupted them and held up a camera and they parted long enough to look over at the camera, neither really giving up their hold on the other.  A quick camera click, a thanks and a bow, and the photographer was gone.  When people would see the photo later, they’d be surprised to see Yifan actually smiling.</p><p>They went back to their own little world, quietly staring at each other and keeping close.  They didn’t notice when the other members hushed down and exchanged knowing looks and smiles.  They filed out of the room without a word between them, and it was only the snap of the door shutting behind Minseok that jolted them into noticing everyone was gone.</p><p>Yifan took it as his cue to sit down and pull Junmyeon into his lap, burying his nose in Junmyeon’s neck and feeling out the body that’d been kept from him for so long.  Junmyeon sighed into his touch and carded his fingers through Yifan’s hair, ran his hands over his shoulders.</p><p>“You’re wearing the necklace I gave you,” he whispered, fiddling with the chain Yifan was wearing.</p><p>Yifan exhaled slowly, drawing his lips across Junmyeon’s clothed collarbones before looking up at him.  “I never take it off.”</p><p>Junmyeon’s gentle smile was the light in the world Yifan had missed since they’d left for China and he was drawn to it like a moth to the flame.  Their lips finally met in a kiss that felt like the first breath they’d taken in months, and it was a few minutes before they could think again.</p><p>Junmyeon rested his head on Yifan’s shoulder, running a thumb along Yifan’s jaw line, observing the sharp angles of Yifan’s face and how they softened when Junmyeon was with him.  “I missed you.”</p><p>Yifan leaned into the touch, holding Junmyeon’s hand to his and taking in Junmyeon and feeling like his heart was about ready to burst.</p><p>“I missed you, too, yeobo.”</p><p>Junmyeon smiled again, shy and happy, and Yifan couldn’t help but kiss him again.  It was soft and slow, but that’s how they both preferred it in the whirlwind of chaos that was their lives.</p><p>A cough broke the silence and they whipped away from each other, Junmyeon nearly falling over in his hurry to get out of Yifan’s lap and Yifan looking like he’d just been slapped across the face.</p><p>All of EXO stood there with varying expressions.  The owner of the cough, Baekhyun, stepped forward.</p><p>“Hyungs, we know.”</p><p>If their hearts hadn’t stopped before, they refused to beat now as both Junmyeon and Yifan froze.  All the care they took to keep their relationship a secret was a waste.  A joke.  Junmyeon looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and Yifan was ready to throw something.</p><p>“Yifan, it’s okay.  We want you to be happy.”</p><p>Lu Han spoke then, stepping forward.  Neither leader could miss how tightly his fingers were laced with Minseok’s and, when they looked behind him, how some of the others were standing: Kyungsoo wrapped in Jongin’s arms, Chanyeol’s arm slung around Yixing’s shoulders with their heads resting together, Zitao’s fingers hooked into the pocket of Sehun’s pants, their bodies angled towards each other in an intimate way.</p><p>The leaders had been so busy trying to hide their own relationship, they’d neglected to notice the ones blossoming around them.</p><p>They all looked at the two boys hopefully, seeking approval for the couples that just revealed themselves, breaths held to see how they would react.</p><p>Junmyeon let out a mix of a relieved chuckle and an exasperated sigh, tearing up and rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands to stem the tears.  Yifan stood and took Junmyeon into his arms to comfort him, looking over Junmyeon’s shoulder and giving a brief nod that had the rest of the EXO members smiling and patting each other on the backs.</p><p>“EXO IS ON IN 45 MINUTES!  WHERE ARE THE CORDINOONAS?”</p><p>The shouts of the manager wafted through the closed door and they all groaned but at the same time, their eyes were bright and their spirits were high.</p><p>EXO was now, truly, one.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>- Wrote this fic A G E S ago back in the day. Obviously.</p><p>- The referenced photo is this one: https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6op10m8le1rntrqmo1_400.jpg</p></blockquote></div></div>
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